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Monday, December 7, 2009

What is SACME?

Those who don't work in the CME (certified continuing medical education) industry may not be familiar with this acronym. SACME stands for the Society for Academic Continuing Medical Education and it's generally pronounced "sack-me." If you have many gray hairs on your head, then you may know this group as SMCDCME (I have no idea how that was pronounced).

SACME was established on April 2, 1976 as the Society of Medical College Directors of Continuing Medical Education (SMCDCME). On July 20, 1998, SMCDCME was re-named the Society for Academic Continuing Medical Education (SACME).

The mission of the Society for Academic Continuing Medical Education is to promote the research, scholarship, evaluation and development of CME/CPD (continuing medical education/continuing professional development) that helps to enhance the performance of physicians and other healthcare professionals practicing in the United States, Canada, and elsewhere for purposes of improving individual and population health.

So why am I mentioning SACME? I've had a chance to speak with quite a few of my readers about careers in the world of medical education. Although there are many jobs within private medical education and publishing companies, there are also academic positions (some of these are not faculty positions, but administrative roles) within the world of CME. So, it's important to expand your horizons when you're exploring career options in medical education. You may choose to work for a private company or you may end up in some type of academic institution where you are managing others within the CME department.